Gas-regulator.



1. F. SPERBER.

GAS REGULATOR.

APPucATloN FILED luLY 25,1914.

1, 179,57 l. Patented Apr. 18, 1916.

INVENTOR THE-COLUMNA PL'ANOGRAPH ca., WASHINGTON/17.1.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT orricE.

JOHN E. sPERBER', or NEW YORK, N. Y., AssIeNoR, BY

DIRECT AND MESNE" ASSIGN- MENTS, TIO AMERICAN eras` GOVERNOR WORKS,ING., or NEW YORK, N. Y., A

CORPORATION 0E NEWYORK-.f f

GAS-REGULATOR.

Specviilcatio'nv of Lettersl Patent. Patented Apr, 18, 1916.

Appiieamnsmed July 25, 1914. serial No. 853,208.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN F. SRERBER", av citizen of the United States ofAn'ieri'c'a,1 iesiding in the borough of Manhattan, clty, county, andState of New York, have' 1nvented certain new and useful Improvements inGas-Regulators, of which thefollowing is a specification. i

My invention relates to ay regulator or governor for maintaining auniform' and unvarying pressure upon` gas at the burners,notwithstanding luctuations in pressure'in the supply pipe, andvnotwithstanding'vari'- ations in pressure in the service pipe, due tovarying consumption at the burners, or to other causes. K

The object of my invention is to provide a gas pressure regulator which`shall be Sextremely sensitive in action and which may be readilyadjusted to deliver gas at any desired'y pressure.

My invention consists in the provision ofv means for maintaining auniform pressure in the service pipes notwithstanding fluctuations inpressure in the supply. Byl my invention also, upon a sudden drop inypres'- sure in the service pipes, due to an increase in consumption,the volume of gas supplied through the meter is-increased withoutv anyincrease in the pressure.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved constructionof regu-` lator wherein the parts may be'ea'sily 'taken apart for thepurpose of cleaning" the same;

Further objects of the invention will `appear as the descriptionproceeds.

A desirable form in which my invention .may be embodied is illustratedin'y the ac'- companyingl drawing', wherein,-

Figure l is a central vertical section`r on the line 1-1, Fig. 2. Fig. 2is a plan view partly in section thereof on the line 2 2 in Fig. l. y ll l The apparatus illustrated in theflaccompanying drawing comprises abase A having on the inlet or high pressure side, inlet pipes D, Dleading to the inner or high pressure chamber a. A plurality of inletpipes isc provided: to facilitate the connection tothe supply pipes. Theoutlet pipe E leadsfrom the-outer or low pressure chamber a". Thesechambers are .separated byv a partition I icarrying the valve seat z',which receives the main inlet valve Gr'.

y Above the base A is a sealing chamber which comprises a reservoir Badapted to receive the sealing liquid T, for which purpose mercury isusually employed. This is provided with a cover C, and to prevent theleakage -of the sealing liquid during the handling of the device, Iprefer to provide the reservoir and cover with shoulders b, c forming a`species of tongue-and-groove connectiony between the two. y The saidcover is then secured to the reservoir by bolts passing through flangesin each of the parts, as illustrated. Reservoir B has a dome b" formedtherein, whereby outer and inner channels t, t are formed, and thesereceive the outer and inner floats J, K. A passage b2 is providedbetween the said channels for the purpose of permitting the insertion ofthe sealing liquid therein. I have illustrated the outer and innerfloats as being concentrically arranged, which is my preferredconstruction, and these are supported upon they stem Ffof the main valveG, whereon they are held in adjusted position by locknuts j, k. A hood Uis supported upon this stem and carries the usual weights L, of whichany number may be provided, according to the pressure desired. These areinserted through an. opening in the cover C, which is closed by ascrew-cap R, this being made removable for the purpose of changing thesaid weights as desired, and preferably being held in place by suitablemeans such as thepad-lock r, whereby interference with the device isprevented.

To prevent the'loss of the mercury in handlingthe regulator, the usualvent hole S is provided with an inwardly extending tubular sleeve S1',so that upon inversion of the apparatus the mercury will not flow out ofthe vent, but will be prevented by the said` is provided between the inishould cease, the increase in pressure will"- cause the float J to belifted, causing the `main valve G to close or substantially so,

and at the Sametime anauxiliary valve' H1 which is adjustably held inplace upon the the outer float J.- The said passage comprises a tube M,part yof which may bemain' valve stem Fby lock-nuts h1, 7L? willlikewiselbe raised'and ,willsubstantially close the inner passage,wherebyvblowing out of the mercury in the sealing chamber will beprevented. A corresponding outer-'pase sage-M leads from the outerchamber a1 to formed integral with the mercury holder B,

and which will haveits upper end above the normal level of mercury inthe said mercury holder, and part `of which may be formed asan extensionof the said tube and threaded into the base A. Y

`An important feature of my invention consists in the provision of meanswhereby the pressure may be maintained Constantin the service pipes,whether or not thereis ak sudden increase in the supply pipe pressureora sudden drop in pressure inthe service pipes, due to an increase inconsumption at the burners. This feature of my invention' l isaccomplished by the provision ofvmeans vkso lwhereby a sudden inflow ofgas is prevented,

from affecting the pressure in the outer oat J. The said means asillustrated, comprises v an auxiliary valve H which may be formed,

- valve H, and is there `provided duced bearing 0K1. Thereby, as thevalve stem F falls upon a sudden drop of pressure, the main valve Gopens, 'and at the sametimevthe auxiliary valve H is rai'sedto its`working position substantially as shown in Fig. l, in which closes thebottom of the tube M and protects it from the flow of the increasedvolume of gas coming in, and prevents any substantial` increase ofpressure in the outer float J. I prefer to provide means for guiding thesaid auxiliary valve H, and such means as illustrated comprisea stemextension H2 upon the said auxiliary valve H which is received in ashort guiding tube P that is mounted in the said base plate V. A setscrew Q is threaded in tube P and provides an adjustable stop for stemH2. A lock-nut Q maintains the said screw Q in adjusted position. ,p Asecond auxiliary valve H is mounted so as to close the inner passage Nupon a sudden increase 1n pressure, and` as illusment l of the lock-nuts`likev'vise,'provided for adjusting the lmain withl a reposition itsubstantially trated, such valve is supported directly upon the mainvalve stem F, and is capable of being adjusted in position thereon andheld in such adjusted position by suitable adjustb, 71,2;w Means 'arevalve G in position and for holding it in position, comprising the nutg.

wAn important feature of my invention is t the provision of theauxiliary valve H or some lequivalent means for checking the increase inpressure inthe outer float J upon the increase in flow of gas throughthe regulator, and by means of this apparatus the pressure of gas ismaintainedat a substantially uniform point, irrespective of variationsin the consumption. In actual prac tice the invention has been found tomaintain-substantially unvarying pressure in gas inthe service ingdemand.

In the operation of myv inventionr the gas enters the inlet or highpressure chamber a through either inlet indicated in the vdrawings as Dor D, and passes upwardzthrough the passage N into the inner float K,and at the same time through the main valve G, and` fills the servicepipes ready for consumption. The surplus gas then passes upward throughthe auxiliary valve H into the outside float. This causes both floats torise and move the main valve toward the closing position, and with itthe auxiliary valve H which is maintained rigidly on the mainvalvespindle. By this action the balance bar O is released and theauxiliary valve H drops byits weight into its guiding socket P where itrests upon the adjustable screw Q and the entra-nce tothe outer passageM is fully open and both the floats are a-vailable to regulate thepressure. During the operation of the device the lower edge of the innerand outer floats will be at all times immersed in the mercury in thesealing chambers .25, z5. If the pressure of the incoming gas upon thefloats exceeds the weight vof the floats together with the adjustingweights L, both floats will be raised suiiiciently to restrict theopening in the main valve seatl Vso as to allow only a proper flow ofgas pipe in the presencey of a vary-i therethrough. The number and sizesof the adjusting weights L may be varied as re-' quired.` The gas fromthe outer gas chamber a will pass up through the outer tube Minto'theouter float J, and act upon the said float, thereby controlling thepressure unvaryingly at all times, witheconomy. If the system is workingunder a normal demand and the inlet valve is adjusted. to meetthisdemand and there should follow a sudden and large increase inconsumption of gas, requiring a largely increased volume'of supply, thiswill causea sudden release of pressure in the service pipes and in theregu- A later, which` will cause the vfloats to drop,

' apparatus were not provided with the auX- iliary valve H, would befto'cause an increasein pressure in both the` inner and outer floats, whichwould tend to raise thev said floats and partially closey the mainvalve, which would produce a-'fluct'uating pressure and irregularoperation at the burners. By the provision', however, of the auxiliaryvalve H, I cause the tube leading toA the outer float to be partiallyclosed when the main valve'G opens, and thereby the inrush of gaskcausedby the said opening of the main valve will be deflected away fromthe bottom of the outer tube M, and will not affect the pressure intheouter float J, which will be less than that in the inner float K.VThis will cause the floats to be maintained at a lower level and willconsequently increase the supply of gas entering into the main valve. Atthe Ysame time the weights L will maintain the uniform and desiredpressure in the service pipes. It will therefore be seen that broadlyspeaking,l my invention contemplates the provision of means whereby atdesired times oneor the other of the floats will be relieved of thepressure of gas, so that while the pressure upon the gasin the' serviceypipes is maintained at a uniforml and desired amount, the volume of gasentering through the inlet will be much larger, owing tothe fact thatbut one of the floats receives the pressure of the incoming gas.

By supply pipes I refer to the pipes on the supply side of theregulator, and by service pipes I refer to the pipes on the consumptionside of the regulator. The inner float is that on' the supply side, andaccordingly I have termed the corresponding chamber in the regulator asthe inner chamber, and the passage connecting the two as' the innerpassage. The corresponding float, chamber andv passage on theconsumption side, I have termed the outer members.

A valuable feature of my invention is that whenever gas is used underforced draft (air pressure), the air in the air supply pipes whichfrequently backs into the gas supply pipes 4will cause the floats torise and close the main valvetight, thus preventing'a breakr of the gasmeter and anl explosion which consequently would follow. Anotherimportant feature of my inventio-n and a valuable safeguard is that animpulsive extremely high pressure on the inlet side of the regulatorwill immediately close both the main` valve and the auxiliary valve H,thus preventing the mercury sealfrom being forced out of the channels ofthe floatholder B, thereby unsealing the regulator.

Although I have illustrated a plurality of inlet passages DQ'D, theseare ,provided for" the purpose of convenience and.l to enablerthemechanic to easily make connections in the most convenient manner, andit is not desiredy to vemploy more than one of the said passages, andthe other one will be sealedup.

I have illustrated' in they accompanying drawings, and have described inthe fo-regoing description, the preferred manner of constructing myga'sregulator, which is the best nowknown` to me, but it is' within theskill ofthe gasengineer to modify the same and employrequivalentconstructions without departingy from the real scope of my inventionwithin the limits of the appended claims.

' What I claiml is:

` l. fluidi pressure regulator comprising an inlet pipe, a partitiontherein dividing thesame into high and low pressure chambers, sai/dpartition havingv an inlet port, a main valve adapted to close saidport, a sealing chamber communicating with said high pressure y chamber,and a sealing chamber communicating with said low pressure chamber, anda lvalve adapted to restrict said last named communication adapted tooperate oppositely to saidmain valve.

'2. Ingav gas regulator, a gas supply pipe, a main ,valveY therein, aLsealing chamber', floats therein 'connected to said valve; passagesconnecting said floats and the,outlet and inlet sides ofthev supply piperespectively, and an auxiliary valve adapted toA restrict the passage tothe outlet float, and means for closing same as the main valve opens.

3. In a gas regulator, a gas supply pipe, a main valve therein, asealing chamber, floats therein connected to said valve; passagesconnecting said floats and the outlet and inlet sides of the supply piperespectively, and an auxiliary valve adaptedl to restrict the passage tothe outlet float operated by the main valve and adapted to restrict saidpassage as the mainvalve opens.

LA fluid pressure regulator having a high pressure chamber communicatingwith the supply pipe, and a low pressure chamber communicating with theservice pipe, av sealing chamber containing passages connecting onefloat to the high pressure chamber and the other float to the' lowpressure chamber: a main valve controlling a passage between saidchambers and operated by said floats, and an `auxiliary valvecontrolling the passage to the outer float, and means whereby saidauxiliary valve isadapted to` restrict said passage as the mainv valveopens.

5,.y A fluid pressure regulator having a high pressure chambercommunicating with the supply pipe, andl a low pressure chambercommunicating with the service pipe, a sealing 'chamber' containingouter and inner floats, passages connecting vthe inner float to the high.pressure` chamber and the outer ,float tothe lowvpressure chamber.; a,mam

' valve controlling a passage between said .floats, inner and outerpassages between Said chambers and operated by said floats, and

` an auxiliary valve controlling the passage to the outer float, andasecond auxiliary valve adapted to restrict the passage vtothe innery.float as themain valve closes. l

6. A gas regulator provided with highv and vlow pressure Achamberscommunicating respectively with the supply and serviceV pipes, a mainvalve controllingan inlet passage betweensaid chambers, asealing cham,

ber, inner and outer floats therein, and passages connecting said highandlow pressure chambers with ,saidv inner and outer `floatsrespectively; means whereby upon a sudden release in pressure in the lowpressure chamber, the main valve 1s opened and the passage connecting`the outer float tothe lowV pressure chamber is restricted.

7. A gas regulator provided with high and low pressure chamberscommunicating respectively with ythe supply and service pipes, a mainvalve controlling an 'inlet passage between lsaid chambers, a sealingchamber, inner and outer floats therein, 'and passages connecting saidhigh and low pressure chambers with saidkinner and outer floatsrespectively; a device for restricting the passage from the low pressurechamberto the outer float adapted for operation upon an opening of themain valve,"whereby upon a sudden drop in pressure inthe low pressureside, the main valve is opened to increase the supply, and means wherebythe outer fioat is shielded from the increased pressure due to suchincreased supply and the volume is increasedy while the pressure ismaintained. l

8. A gas regulator, comprising inner and outer chambers, a main Valveseparating said chambers, a sealing. chamberhaving inner and outerfloats, means whereby said main valve is controlled by the movement ofsaid inner and outer chambers and the corresponding iioats respectively,an auxiliary valve on said valve stem adapted to restrict the innerpassage as the pressure in the inner chamber rises, and an auxiliaryvalve adapted to restrict the outer passage as the pressure in theouterchamber drops. y

9. In a gas regulator, a main gas inlet jvalve, a float having separategas receiving receptacles controlling the same, and passages leading toeach receptacle,` a device adapted to operate in vopposition to the mainvalve, said device adapted to restrict one of said passages as the mainvalve opens, Whereby upon a drop in pressure in the service side of theregulator and a consequent opening of the main valve and increase in thevolume of gas admitted, a passage leading to one of the floats will'berestricted and a portion of the float will be shielded from an increasein pressure from the increased flo-w,

whereby the controlling v@,Jlfect of thefloat will be diminished. c .y10,r gas regulator, having inner and outer chambers, a sealing chamber,inner and outer floats therein, i'nner'nand outer passages connectingsaid respective inner and outer chambers and iioats,jamain valvecontrolling an inlet/passage between said inner and `outer chambers, astem therefor supporting said floats, a sealing liquidfor said lloats,an auxiliary valve adapted to restrict the outer passage as the floatsdro-p, and an auxiliaryv valve adapted to restrict the inner passage asthe oatsrise.

. 11.` A a gas regulator having inner and outer chambers, a sealingchamber containing inner and outer floats therein, inner and outerpassages connecting said respectiveinnery and outercchambers and floats,a' main valve controlling an inlet passage between said inner and outerchambers, a stem therefor supporting said floats, a sealing liquid forsaid floats, an auxiliary valve ladapted to restrict the outer passageas the floats drop, and means for operating said valve lcomprising apivoted'bar interposed between said main valve and said auxiliary valve,

and adapted to move said valve toward its closing position as themainvalveopens.

12. A gas regulator having inner and outer chambers, a sealing chamber,inner and outer i floats therein', a tube connecting said outer float tosaid outer chamber, a connection be-` tween the inner chamberand innerfloat, a main valve controlling an inlet passage between said inner andvouter. chambers, ka stem therefor supporting said floats, a sealingliquid for 'said.floats, an auxiliary valve of' cup shape underlyingsaid tube and adapted tomove toward they same and tending to close theentrance `to said tube as the floats rise, and means for operating saidvalve comprising a bar pivotally mountedY in saidv regulator, one 'endof which' is adjacent to the vmain valve or itsy parts, and the otherend "is 'adjacent to said auxiliary valve.

valve controlling a port leading from one to the other of said chambers,a sealing chamber communicating with the high `pressure chambenvand asealing chamber communihigh and lowv pressure chambers, a mam c eatingwith the low pressure chamber, and signed my name in the presence of twosuba valve adapted. to restrict said last named serbing witnesses.

communication said valve adapted to be operated n co-njuncton with, butin opposi- JOHN F' SPERBER' tion to, the main valve, whereby said ValveWltnesses.:

is closed as the main valve opens. THOMAS F. WALLACE,

In witness whereof, I have hereunto FRED WHITE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

